4 Ways to Soundproof a Baby Room

Use Our Tips to Soundproof a Baby Room

There’s nothing more angelic than a sleeping newborn – at least until they start screaming. As a new parent, creating a peaceful environment for your baby is just as important for their good nights sleep as it is for your sanity. If you know you need a quiet place for your baby to sleep but you’re not sure how to build one, you’ve come to the right place to learn how to soundproof a baby room.

1. Add Sound Masking to your Baby’s Nursery

You’ve bought the crib and stocked up on stuffed animals, but now you notice how loud it is when you wake up to feed the baby, and when trying to rock them back to sleep your husband rumbles down the hallway, or your wife is stirring about in the den. The only thing that separates you is that thin door. You can see the shadow of his feet underneath it – a 2″ gap letting in all types of light…and sound.

The biggest thing that can awaken a newborn is a sudden, loud noise. It’s not the total volume in the space or loudness of the sound itself (in decibels), but the immediate change in its loudness. We call this dynamic range – the difference between a loud noise and its preceding silence. To make these sounds less audible and noticeable, you can add a white noise speaker to provide a comfortable acoustic background to drown out noise in the room. These are effective at masking unwanted noise that comes into the room, so that child can continue to dream peacefully.

2. Soundproof the Door to the Room

Speaking of that door – why is there so much light pouring under it? It doesn’t take a large gap to flank sound through the door. If you can slip a piece of paper under the doorway, then it is going to let in a lot of sound!

Most bedrooms have hollow-core doors, which let in lots of noise. Solid-core doors are denser and much better at reducing noise. Replacing an entire door may be more work or more money than you’re hoping to put in. If you already have a solid-core door, consider adding door strips to seal any sound leaks around the door.

Our favorite cost affordable and effective solution is installing a soundproofing blanket over the nursery door. This will add STC sound blocking to your doorway as well as acoustically seal the doorway to prevent outside sound from entering your nursery. Residential Acoustics makes a customizable sound-blocking and completely light blocking panel that hangs over the door frame and can be decorative as well.

3. Invest in Soundproof Curtains For Your Baby’s Room

Soundproof Curtains can be installed over windows into the nursery to minimize inbound noise.

Similar to the soundproof blanket for doors,our completely light-blocking soundproof curtains hang over the windows in your nursery to block out 60%-90% of the volume of bothersome noises coming from outside the home. Not only will the curtain reduce noise entering the nursery from outside, but the additional fabric on the walls will help muffle noise that occurs inside the room as well. This will both allow your little one to sleep without disturbance, and protect your sanity as well.

4. Soundproofing the Floor Above the Room

Let’s go back to the big picture – you’ve addressed the majority of sound pollution (windows and doors) what else might be affecting your baby? Noise from above sounds louder hitting bare floors than soft fabric, so if the baby’s room is downstairs, you’ll definitely want to invest in carpets upstairs. Wall-to-wall carpeting is a great way to muffle noise. If installing carpet is a little pricey, you can cut costs and achieve the same effect by laying down decorative throw rugs. Get one big rug that will cover most of the traffic areas or buy a few smaller ones and create a patch-work design.

It is most important that the carpet is directly above the nursery, so that loud footfall does not turn into airborne noise and penetrate downwards.

Follow these sound proofing tips when decorating your nursery and both you and your baby will be sleeping through the night in no time.

Why Would You Soundproof a Baby Room?

The overall benefits:

• Reduce disturbing noise and light from entering the nursery and disrupting your baby’s sleep
• Reduce chance of waking up in middle of the night for minor coughs, sneezes, or cries
• Better sleep quality for your baby and you

Don’t forget, for the best results soundproofing your nursery, consider the following:

1. Add a White Noise Machine next to the baby’s crib
2. Install a soundproof blanket over the door to the room, and soundproofing curtains over the windows
3. Upgrade the door to a solid-core reduces noise transfer through the door panel itself
4. Treat the door like an exterior door – ensure there are door sweep and seals around its perimeter. Heavy duty weather stripping or STC rated seals are highly recommended.

By applying our checklist, you’ll enjoy greater peace and less disruptions in your baby’s room.

If you need an acoustic assessment in your home, contact acoustic engineering consultants at our sister company Commercial Acoustics to schedule a consultation.